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Kraken (Ship)
Description The largest of the human-built "fish-ship" designs, the Kraken appears much as a vastly over-sized Squid Ship, albeit with a very different ram assembly. Large enough that it can only be moved by the most powerful of major helms, or by a series major helm, the Kraken is a behemoth indeed. These ships were designed for one purpose only: to serve as dreadnaughts capable of smashing virtually any other spelljamming vessel to flinders. The Kraken was first designed during the lead-up to the first Unhuman War by a powerful human nation which had been suffering greatly from raids perpetrated by a series of ogre war-kings. This nation laid keels for five Krakens, which were intended specifically to destroy ogre Mammoths. Unfortunately, only three of these Krakens were completed before a massive ogre attack raized the shipyards that were building the vessels. Nevertheless, the completed Krakens proved to be highly effective against the large ogre craft, and before long other human groups plagued by ogres were clamouring for the plans so that they could build Krakens of their own. Despite these successes, and the early popularity of the design, the Kraken never became a common ship. This is because the Kraken, although highly effective against large enemy vessels such as a Mammoth or a Deathspider, is quite simply overkill when used against smaller craft. For most purposes a pair of the much smaller Squid Ships would be more effective than a single Kraken, as well as usually being cheaper, depending on the helms used. Today very few Krakens are found throughout the spheres, but with the resurgence of the goblinkin and the advent of the second Unhuman War, some groups have begun to build the battleships once more. Crew The crew of a Kraken will always be arranged along military lines, since these powerful and expensive vessels are found exclusively in the hands of military organizations. As the Kraken usually relies on destroying enemy vessels outright rather than engaging in boarding actions, a typical crew will range between 110-120 men; enough to operate the ship and man all weapons, along with a few extra crew to replace any casualties, but with few if any dedicated marines. Whenever possible, a Kraken will carry several battle mages in addition to the helmsmen. Ship Uses Military Dreadnought: The only purpose of the Kraken is to serve as a massive warship. In this role the ship has proven to be highly effective against Deathspiders and other large warships which rely on boarding actions, generally being able to plow right through these ships as they attempt to grapple, leaving behind little more than a field of debris. Nevertheless, in practice a Kraken will more often be used to impress other governments rather than actually being used in combat. Other Configurations Heavy Kraken: The only other significant variation on the standard Kraken is a version which both thickens the hull, and plates it with metal. The resulting Heavy Kraken is AR 3, but has the MC reduced to a ponderous F, while cargo space is reduced to 40 tons. A Heavy Kraken is most effective when used along with nimbler support craft which can herd enemy vessels towards the clumsy ship.